Rolling kneepad caster device

ABSTRACT

A rolling kneepad caster device. The rolling kneepad caster device has a multiple-wheeled support assembly with swivel casters to provide structure to the rolling kneepad caster device to support a user, a kneepad cushion provided above the multiple wheeled support assembly to comfortably receive a user&#39;s knee, a substantially elongated shin guard adjacently attached to the multiple wheeled support assembly, the substantially elongated shin guard having cushioning provided to comfortably receive a user&#39;s shin and upper foot and a plurality of strap fasteners to secure the user&#39;s knees and shins to the rolling kneepad caster device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/427,562, filed Nov. 20, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a rolling kneepad caster device that is equipped with a comfortable knee and shin support.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Protective kneepads are often used by workers who must work on their knees as part of their day-to-day work, particularly for workers installing floors, working on automobiles, masonry workers and plumbers. The specific type of kneepads that these workers often use have rollers or coasters on them to facilitate moving around on their knees. This type of kneepad and other similar kneepads are found and reflected in the related art.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 330,957 issued to Contrini, outlines an ornamental design for a combined creeper and tool caddy.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 718,875 issued to Pettersen, outlines an improvement in knee rests and supports. The knee rest and support is specifically used by a person when scrubbing or working upon floors, allowing the person to work upon the floor with ease and without danger of soiling their garments from contacting the floor.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 1,533,907 issued to Whipp, outlines the use of a knee protector provided with a tension adjusting means and means for permitting passage of air through the kneepads. This will protect the knees of people working standing on their knees and will make the worker comfortable while working.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 1,547,166 issued to Davidson, outlines the use of kneeling pads for workman and laborers whose occupation necessitates kneeling and are especially designed for the purpose of providing a device which may readily be attached to a wearer's knee and which when attached will permit the wearer to move freely about from place to place.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 2,291,094 issued to McCarthy, outlines a service creeper having a border structure for the protection and insulation of multiple segregated artificial lighting elements, to assist the visualizing of objects to be viewed and to prevent the glare of light from interfering with the workmen's vision during manually operative control.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 2,448,427 issued to Gordon, outlines a creeper or kneepad device that would adequately and comfortably support a user from knee to toe. There is an extension that furnishes support to the feet of the user and serves to steady him and make his position more secure during his working operations.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,021 issued to Doherty, outlines the use of a sheet material sling that is supported on a horseshoe-shaped device mounted on three casters which forms a vehicle to support the knee of a user. Two such supports are used, unconnected to each other by users who must kneel as part of their work and must move along a support surface. Provisions are made for the supports to be interconnected by a flexible connector or by a rigid table-like sheet.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,391 issued to Cooper, outlines the use of a pivoted knee skate with a leg rest having an upper surface and lower surface, a foot rest having an upper surface and a lower surface, a plurality of wheels, a coupling mechanism rotatably coupling wheels to the lower surface of the leg rest and wheels to the lower surface of the foot rest. There is also a securement mechanism coupled to the leg rest and footrest for securing the upper surface of the leg rest to the lower leg of a user and the upper surface of the footrest to the foot of a user.

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,774 issued to Legenstein, outlines the use of a roller kneepad having a hard shell supported by a plurality of swiveling casters. The inside of the hard shell is lined with a cushioning material to absorb shock when kneeling and to cushion against minor shape disparities between the wearers' knees and the inside of the hard shell. A plate is attached to the exterior portion of the hard shell to provide mounting locations for a plurality of casters. The casters are capable of swiveling through a 360 degree range.

[0015] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,440 and 6,219,845 issued to Ferriter, outlines the use of a wheeled support for supporting a kneeling person and includes a pair of knee supports, each having a frame, a pad mounted on the frame and a three-wheel assembly mounted on the bottom of the frame. Also included is a pair of wheeled foot supports, which can be used in conjunction with the wheeled support.

[0016] Great Britain patent number 2 215 585 granted to Nierhaus, outlines the use of a kneepad having a lower portion, which is substantially cylindrical, for abutment with the upper end of the shinbone of the wearer, and an upper portion, which is in the form of a sector of a sphere, substantially for abutment with the kneecap of the wearer. There is also a retaining strap engaging with the lower lateral edge of the lower portion and going around the leg of the wearer, rather than the popliteal space immediately behind the knee.

[0017] Although each of the inventions outlined in the previously discussed patents are novel and useful, most do not comfortably support the knee and lower shin while in use. Specifically, there is a problem with current rolling kneepad caster assemblies and that they can be uncomfortable for the user. A kneepad that transfers weight to a shin support rather than a strap, would be more comfortable for a given user and would be of benefit to those that must use a kneepad or “creeper” type of device.

[0018] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The invention is a rolling kneepad caster device. The rolling kneepad caster device has a multiple wheeled support assembly with swivel casters to provide structure to the improved rolling kneepad caster device to support a user, a kneepad cushion provided above the three wheeled support assembly to comfortably receive a user's knee, a substantially elongated shin guard adjacently attached to the multiple wheeled support assembly, the substantially elongated shin guard having cushioning provided to comfortably receive a user's shin and upper foot and a plurality of strap fasteners to secure the user's knees and shins to the rolling kneepad caster device.

[0020] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a rolling kneepad caster device with a shin guard that is more comfortable to wear than current rolling kneepads with shin guards.

[0021] It is another object of the invention to provide a rolling kneepad caster device with a shin guard that prevents any straps from binding to a user's legs by carrying the device's weight when the user walks, preventing manual repositioning.

[0022] It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

[0023] It is a further object of the invention to provide a rolling kneepad caster device that supports the device's weight by a shin guard that transfers the device's weight to the top of the foot instead of the leg and ankle straps provided in the back of the rolling kneepad caster device.

[0024] These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025]FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a rolling kneepad caster device with shin guards and supports according to the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 2 is a top plan perspective view of a rolling kneepad caster device with shin guards and supports.

[0027]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rolling kneepad caster device from underneath the rolling kneepad.

[0028]FIG. 4 is a topside perspective view of a rolling kneepad caster device with shin guards and supports.

[0029] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0030] The present invention is a rolling kneepad caster device 10 used by a user U, as is shown in FIG. 1.

[0031] The rolling kneepad caster device 10 comprises a multiple wheeled support assembly 20 with swivel casters 22 to provide structure to the rolling kneepad caster device 10 to support a user U, a kneepad cushion 30 provided above the multiple wheeled support assembly 20 to comfortably receive a user's knee, a substantially elongated shin guard 40 adjacently attached to the multiple wheeled support assembly 20, the substantially elongated shin guard 40 having cushioning 42 provided to comfortably receive a user's shin and upper foot and a plurality of strap fasteners 50 to secure the user's knees and shins to the rolling kneepad caster device 10.

[0032] As is shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the multiple wheeled support 20 and the substantially elongated shin guard 40 are both provided with kneepad cushioning 30 and shin guard cushioning 42. The multiple wheeled support 20 has 3 swivel casters 22, which are equally spaced apart, independently movable and can turn and roll in any direction desired by the user U. The multiple wheeled support 20 allows a user U to move in any direction by the user U shifting his or her weight and pushing off against the ground with the top of their feet and toes.

[0033] The kneepad cushion 30 is ergonomically designed to receive a user's U knee, as depicted with a generally depressed middle portion 32 and raised perimeter portion 34. The substantially elongated shin guard 40 and cushioning 42 is concaved downward to also ergonomically receive a user's U shin and upper foot. The height of the multi-wheeled support 20 is greater than the concavity from the substantially elongated shin guard 40 to allow the rolling kneepad caster device 10 from scraping against the ground. The distal end of the substantially elongated shin guard 44 terminates in such a way as to allow a user's U foot to hang-off of the distal end of the substantially elongated shin guard 44 to allow for the user to push-off of the ground to propel himself along the ground. The distal end of the substantially elongated shin guard 44 serves as a cushion to comfortably handle the device's weight being transferred from the plurality of strap fasteners 50.

[0034] Several devices in the related art have substantially elongated shin guards provided as part of a rolling kneepad caster device. U.S. Pat. No. 2,448,427 issued to Gordon, U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,021 issued to Doherty and U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,391 issued to Cooper outline similar rolling kneepad caster devices that include substantially elongated shin guards. These similar rolling kneepad caster devices, however have their shortcomings. The pair of individual knee and shin provisions are joined together and are not independently separate to allow for greater mobility with the devices outlined in the Gordon patent and the Doherty patent. The kneepads taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,391 issued to Cooper also utilize shin guards, but are not padded and do not enable a user to use the top of his or her feet to propel themselves on the ground. The rolling kneepad caster device 10 outlined in this application provides greater comfort and greater maneuverability for a user U then the devices outlined in these other patents. Also users may easily stand and walk, and kneel again without manually readjusting the rolling kneepad caster devices 10.

[0035]FIG. 4 also depicts the rolling kneepad caster device 10. Both the multiple-wheeled support 20 and the substantially elongated shin guard 40 are cushioned with a kneepad cushion 30 and shin guard cushioning 42 that is made of soft foam rubber material or gelatinous material. A plurality of fastening straps 50 are provided to be placed over the multiple-wheeled support 20 as well as the substantially elongated shin guard 40. The plurality of strap fasteners 50 are secured using hook and loop fasteners (not shown) that are well known in the related art. The plurality of strap fasteners 50 are made of nylon and have hook and loop fasteners provided on the ends of the plurality of strap fasteners 50.

[0036] Use of the rolling kneepad caster device 10 is uncomplicated. A typical user will attach the rolling kneepad caster device 10 manually to each of his or her knees and shins, allowing for the top of their feet to push off of the ground and propel themselves with. The plurality of strap fasteners 50 are self-adjusting and are one-size fits all. As previously noted, the swivel casters 22 from the multiple-wheeled support 20 move independently from each other and can maneuver and roll in any direction. Users can also easily manually remove the rolling kneepad caster device 10 from their knees and shins. The rolling kneepad caster device 10 is approximately 2.5′ long and 8.0″ wide at the multiple-wheeled support 20.

[0037] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A rolling kneepad caster device, comprising a multiple wheeled support assembly with swivel casters to provide structure to the rolling kneepad caster device to support a user; a kneepad cushion provided above the multiple wheeled support assembly to comfortably receive a user's knee; a substantially elongated shin guard adjacently attached to the multiple wheeled support assembly, said substantially elongated shin guard having cushioning provided to comfortably receive a user's shin; and a plurality of strap fasteners to secure the user's knees and shins to the rolling kneepad caster device.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the multiple wheeled support has three wheels.
 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the kneepad cushion is made of soft foam rubber material.
 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the kneepad cushion is made of gelatinous material.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the substantially elongated shin guard cushioning is made of soft foam rubber.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the substantially elongated shin guard cushioning is made of gelatinous material.
 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of strap fasteners are provided for attaching a user's knee and a user's shin to the rolling kneepad caster device.
 8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of strap fasteners are made of nylon.
 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of strap fasteners utilize hook and loop fasteners.
 10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the multiple wheeled support assembly and the substantially elongated shin guard are joined together and are not independently separate.
 11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the substantially elongated shin guard allows a user's foot to hang-off of its distal end to propel themselves along the ground.
 12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the swivel casters from the multiple-wheeled support move independently from each other.
 13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the swivel casters are equally spaced apart and can turn and roll in any direction desired by the user. 